Install ADB drivers, the official guide

How to install ADB drivers step by step on your Windows, Linux or Mac computer. If you are an advanced Android user, you are probably already familiar with concepts like enabling permissions on root, unlock the bootloader etc. And if so, you probably know that when doing the vast majority of system modification operations, an element known as the driver ADB.

Since the process of installing these drivers on a computer can be particularly boring, we wanted to prepare this guide on how to download, install and configure ADB and Fastboot on Windows, Linux or Mac, with the procedure explained as simple as possible, so that you can access it whenever you want.

What are ADB drivers and what are they for?

Google itself stated in the official page of Android developers a which the term refers to ADB or Android Debug Bridge. It is a command line based tool, which offers the ability to communicate with the Android device from the computer.

In this way, advanced operations such as the locking or unlocking the bootloader, l’manual installation of updates or the modification of different elements of the system can be performed without the need to enable root permissions.

Sometimes we talked about applications that require advanced permissions that must be granted through ADB.

This is the case with those apps that allow you to hide virtual buttons, of those that allow change the navigation type of the system, and also to perform operations such as the removing bloatware and system apps from a device. We have also collected some of the most useful commands which can be used via ADB.

How to install ADB and Fastboot

But in order to use ADB on a computer, it is necessary install the corresponding drivers which allow the equipment to connect with the Android device. Depending on the platform your computer is based on, the process will be slightly different.

How to install ADB and Fastboot on Windows

The process for using ADB in Windows is simple as there is no need to install drivers. Instead, just download the necessary files and perform the tasks directly in the folder where the files were downloaded.

1. Download the ADB drivers for Windows and save them to any folder on your computer.
2. Extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP to the folder you intend to use to host the drivers – for example C: AndroidADB–.
3. Go to the folder where you unzipped the previous file and open a command window by pressing Shift + right click and “Open command window / PowerShell here”.
4. With the Android device connected to the computer and USB debugging enabled from the developer settings, run the “adb devices” command.

That’s all. When you do the last step, a warning should appear on your mobile that you need to accept to perform operations via ADB. Also, the device identifier will appear in the command window in case all went well.

However, there is a way to make life even easier when using ADB in Windows, so that there is no need to go to the folder where the files are hosted, but the command window can be run anywhere and continue with ADB. This process is not required, although it makes accessing the ADB tools fairly straightforward.

1. Go to File Explorer and go to “This Computer”.
2. In any empty space in the Explorer window, right-click and open “Properties”.
3. In the sidebar, go to “Advanced System Settings” and in the “Advanced Options” tab, click the “Environment Variables” button.
4. Select the variable named “Path” and double click on it.
5. Click on an empty space in the list and press the “Browse” button. Now go to the folder where the ADB files are contained and click “OK”

This way, the next time you want perform any operation via ADB, you will not need to go to the folder where the files are located, but you can open the command window anywhere and execute the commands it contains.

How to install ADB on macOS and Linux

If you have a computer with MacOS or Linux, the procedure for installing ADB is somewhat different from what has to be followed in Windows, but no more complicated for that.

1. Download the package with the drivers and save them in any folder on your computer.
2. Extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP to an easily accessible location.
3. Open Terminal and go to the folder where you extracted the files. To do this, you need to use the following command, changing the path that corresponds to your computer: cd / Users / Andro4all / Desktop / ADB
4. With the Android device connected to the computer and USB debugging enabled from the developer settings, run the “adb devices” command.

As in the previous process, a warning should now appear on the mobile phone screen that you must accept, and subsequently the identification number of the Android terminal will appear in the command window, confirming that the process has been carried out correctly.

How to install ADB on Debian, Fedora and SUSE

Finally, if you use any type of Linux software based on Debian, Fedora or SUSE on your computer, you should know that there is an even easier way to install ADB drivers on your computer.

In the case of Debian based systems, this is sufficient open an instance of Terminal and run the command “sudo apt-get install adb” – without quotes – and enter the root password. For its part, to run the process in Fedora or SUSE the command will be “sudo yum install android-tools”.

As you have seen, the installation and the configuring the ADB drivers it is not a complex process if the given steps are followed.

In some cases, it is also possible to use tools that perform this process automatically, such as i driver ADB universali.

Whatever method you choose, it is certainly advisable to always keep the ADB drivers ready in case it is time to use them to perform any type of advanced operation on an Android device.